[image uploader appears to be down. You can see the cover and read reviews at Amazon, though]

Summary: Jane Jameson is having a really bad day. She's been fired from her job as a children's librarian, gone on her first drunken bender, and, on her way home, was mistaken for a deer by a hunter, shot, and left for dead on the side of the road. To top it all off, she wakes up a vampire, turned by a by-passer who saw the whole thing. Jane must now adjust to her new undead life, figure out her complicated relationship with Gabriel, her sire, and figure out who's framing her for a series of murders in the undead community.

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Readalikes: Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson has the same humor/romance combination, and lots of sarcasm to boot. Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series didn't invent the "vampires as legal citizens" spin, but she's done the best with it, and hers seems to be the basis of Harper's world.

Summary: A cookbook that highlights famous food products and gives a selection of original recipes for each.

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Summary: Jesse and Tulip head to France to face off with the Grail and rescue Cassidy from their clutches.

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Summary: In 1865, Dr. Leviticus Blue unveiled his Boneshaker, a drill designed to penetrate the arctic permafrost in search for gold. But on its first testing in downtown Seattle, the Boneshaker went horribly wrong, destroying much of the city and releasing the Blight, a poisonous gas that turns all who breath it into the living dead. Now, fifteen years later, the Blight and its victims are contained by a massive wall surrounding the city, and Blue's son (Zeke) and widow (Briar) live as outcasts in the shanty town beyond the walls. But Zeke believes his father is innocent, and his quest to prove it leads him inside the wall, and Briar is forced to go in after him...

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Readalikes: The combination of the steampunk gizmos and the western setting reminded me strongly of Firefly, and the zombies could even sort of pass as reavers, so I have to suggest it, even though it's technically not something one reads. I also have to plug Leviathan, which is the most recent steampunk I've read prior to this. Maybe Affinity Bridge as well?

Summary: Jesse and Tulip are still on the search for God, when they're waylaid by a group from Jesse's past; later, reunited with Cassidy, the three set themselves up against the Grail, and ancient holy sect bent on using Jesse and his powers as the new Messiah.

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Summary: Now that the survivors of the zombie apocalypse have found a safe haven, they settle into the day-to-day practicalities of making a new life for themselves. However, other humans may prove more dangerous than the walking dead...

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Readalikes: see the previous entry.

Summary: Police officer Rick wakes up from a coma to discover the world has changed. The dead roam the streets of the cities, while the living are confined to any shelter they can find. With his family and a handful of other survivors, Rick sets out to survive the end of the world.

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Readalikes: Well, there's a ton of graphic novels with zombies in them lately. Tag was supposed to be good. Of course, there's also Max Brook's World War Z tie-in, which is recorded zombie attacks throughout history. And, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is being adapted as a graphic novel for release this spring!

Summary: Tyler Locke is 17 the summer his father is brutally killed. His mother copes by buying a gun and moving Tyler and his siblings to the Locke family estate in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. But there is something evil at the heart of Keyhouse, something that has been waiting a long, long time to escape. And in Tyler's little brother, it may have found what it was seeking....

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Summary: Fed-up preacher Jesse is possessed by Genesis, a half-angel, half-demon creature whose power rivals God's. It isn't long before Jesse starts to learn things he wished he hadn't, like the fact that God has abandoned His creation, and is now MIA. With his ex-girlfriend and an Irish vampire as traveling companions, Jesse sets out to find God and hold him accountable for the world.

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Readalikes: This reminded me a lot of some of the other Vertigo titles I've enjoyed: Hellblazer (which was also authored by Ennis for a while, so go figure), and Sandman.

Summary: 1914: Europe stands on the brink of a war between the Darwinists, who genetically engineer animals to serve as tools and weapons, and the Clankers, who favors mecha and machinery above all else. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand sends his son Alek into hiding, fearful of his own countrymen. Meanwhile, Deryn Sharp, a girl disguised as a boy, serves on board the flagship of the Royal Air Fleet: the Leviathan. When the Leviathan is stranded in a remote stretch of mountains, the two opposing sides must work together, or risk capture by the Germans, who are closing in from all sides.

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Readalikes: This is a great book for reluctant readers, and I wish I was going to make some suggestions on that front, but alas, as I don't think any reluctant readers are reading this blog, I'll stick to adult titles with steampunk overtones. For instance, Boneshaker by Cherrie Priest, is near the top on my to-read list, and it combines steampunk and zombies! Also, it's not appropriate for kids, but there's a graphic novel called Grandville that looks really interesting as well.

Summary: I could type up a summary here, but they did such a nice job over at Unshelved, I think I'll let them do the talking.

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Readalikes: World War Z for sure, but I have trouble coming up with other books that blend scifi and horror quite so well. If anyone can think of any, let me know!

Summary: Elena Michaels, the world's only female werewolf, tracks a rogue mutt to Alaska, and there encounters a group of Russian werewolves set on taking over the American Pack's territory. She also encounters a strange series of previously unknown beings in the wilds of the arctic, and a string of murders that may be linked to one or both groups. As the newly-chosen successor to the Pack's Alpha, it's up to Elena to sort out the mess to prove to both her Pack and the rest of the world that she's worthy of the position.

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Summary: David, our narrator, and his friend John are pulled into a world of demons, doppelgangers, and alternate dimensions after taking a mystery drug at a party. Once the high wears off, nothing will ever be the same, and these two are the only people in the world who can see danger coming.

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Readalikes: Like I said, the things I was thinking of as I read this were Haunted, by Chuck Palaniuk, or House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Summary: The medical adviser for the television show House here reveals her own set of diagnostic mysteries and the clues that helped her solve them. Along the way, she examines the ways in which we train doctors, and how we can improve that system to reduce diagnostic error, as well as why the errors occur in the first place.

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Readalikes: For more med school diagnostic books, I would suggest Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. This book examine what happens to our bodies after death--both funerary customs and scientific research! Also, while on an autopsy kick, Jan Garavaglia (who hosts the awesome show Dr. G: Medical Examiner) has a book called How Not to Die which looks at the most common causes of death in the cases that cross her desk. Browsing through Amazon, there are literally hundreds of doctor narratives about medical school, patient relationships, and daily life, so those are only a few of the ones that caught my eye.

Summary: Dexter has returned from his honeymoon with Rita to find a new serial killer on the streets of Miami. This new opponent has taken his "art" to a new level, of which Dexter approves, until a suspect attacks Deborah, leaving her close to death. Dexter, in an unprecedented show of emotion, sets out of avenge his sister, setting in motion a very personal vendetta between Dexter and the killer.

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Summary: Further adventures of the rabbi's talking cat in Algeria in the 1920's. In these two stories, the cat follows Malka of the Lions (and his lion) across the desert telling stories, then follows a Russian painter across the continent in search of a new Jerusalem.

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Readalikes: See entry for first book.

Summary: In the land to the east of Katsa's home in Graceling, the people have a different threat to worry about than Graced. "Monster" is the term given to those born with unnaturally colored hair or skin, unnatural beauty, and the ability to control the minds of others. Fire is the last living human monster, and has spent her whole life trying to atone for the sins of her predecessors. But an order from the royal family forces her to set aside her carefully constructed rules and standards, and instead engage in some of the very acts she has spent her life trying to avoid, in a desperate rush to save the kingdom from civil war.

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For readalikes, see the entry for Graceling. Closest ones listed there are going to be L. J. Smith's Crown Duel/Court Duel and Sharon Shinn's Summers at Castle Auburn.

Series:
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence
Sabine's Notebook
The Golden Mean
The Gryphon
Alexandria
The Morning Star

Summary: A series of letters unfolds between two artists who have never met, but dream of one another's work. As the correspondence progresses, they gradually fall in love but are held apart by otherworldly forces beyond their control.

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Summary: Spiegelman records his father's experiences during the Nazi regime, from hiding in Poland to his eventual incarceration at Auschwitz and Dachau. The story of Vladek's survival is interwoven with stories of his relationship with his son and daughter-in-law, his second wife, and his life in America.

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Summary: The end of Faefever saw Mac in the thrall of the Unseelie Princes. at the start of Dreamfever she's rescued (in a decidedly unconventional way) and sets out to set the human world to rights by organizing an army of sidhe-seers and reclaiming Dublin one Fae at a time.

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I have to run, so no readalikes this morning. Sorry!